To Be or Not to Be (a Hero)
by cardinalexorcist
Summary: Saten Ruiko runs off in pursuit of another rumor, unknowingly being influenced along with 7499 others, during one night after the Ichiharansai. She runs into trouble and is apparently...saved? A one-shot taking place during the events of NT7


The night was filled with chaos and pandemonium that surpassed the normal strange things that occurred in this city of technology.

It was weird because, normally, everything strange happened in hard to find places. Unless you looked, you wouldn't find anything unnatural until it pulled you in.

That was why it was strange for Saten Ruiko; a girl who's hobby was to scour the internet and streets alike for the purpose of finding weird things.

The rumors about the gangs fighting for dominance in the streets had reached her in the very same night they were occurring. Supposedly, thousands of people were appearing all over Academy City, trying to beat each other to some goal. Fights were breaking out everywhere and innocent people were getting involved.

And strangely, the winner of this chaos would claim the title of hero.

At least, that's what the rumors said.

"I can't help it! I know it's dangerous, but I can't help it! What would Uiharu and the others say if they woke up in the morning and found out that I actually beat a challenge like this! It's so exciting!"

Saten Ruiko hopped several times with pure enthusiasm as she strode along a sidewalk, smiling to herself.

Of course, she wasn't stupid. She knew how dangerous it was for a girl to walk out in the streets at night. The vast amount of fights breaking out was no consolation. That was why she had brought a metal bat along for self-defense.

This went without saying, but she wasn't planning on using it if she didn't have to. The conditions for victory were fairly simple. All she had to do was save the girl who was in trouble before anyone else and she'd be declared a true 'hero'.

Fremea Seivelun…it was a strange name, clearly foreign. Maybe she was just lost or something. But whatever the cause, Saten had the utmost confidence that she'd be able to save her.

"…Alright! I am so ready for this! I've got enough energy to run the whole way thanks to sneaking a few extra peeks at Uiharu's panties! Here I come—huh?"

Just as Saten prepared to rush forward, she spotted something further ahead on the same sidewalk.

It was a tall man standing with his arms folded. He must have at least been six foot, five inches tall and he wore a ceramic clown mask that hid his face behind a creepy smile.

He was staring into the wide display window of a toy shop that was obviously closed. He wasn't moving, for some reason, as if he was considering something.

Saten was just considering whether or not she should say something; he might have been wondering when the shop would open again. In that case, it would not be until morning.

But before she could, the man started moving. He drew his arm back as if he were going to thrust his arm forward suddenly.

"Aaaahhhhhh!"

Saten inadvertently cried out as she realized he was going to punch the display window. The rain of glass would probably dig into the man's hand and arm, causing him to bleed badly. This was enough to surprise any innocent girl who was not used to seeing violence.

This sudden shriek seemed to surprise the man, as he stopped his fist. He turned his face toward Saten and the eerie smile on the mask caused Saten to make another involuntary shriek.

"…You saw, didn't you?"

The man spoke in a low voice in the same manner a girl who's panties had been exposed by an errant wind might address a nearby boy. It hid embarrassment and had a foreboding sense of danger in it. Saten smiled awkwardly, unsure of how to respond.

"Y-Yeah, I saw…I guess? You know, if you punch the glass, you'll only hurt yourself."

"So you did see." The man turned his whole body toward her as he gripped his fists once more. "I thought so. Justice is only justice when others do not see it being done. Otherwise, it's just an act of good will done solely for the purpose of making oneself look good. In that case…I have to make you forget what you saw by eliminating you."

"W-w-w-w-wait, what?! Did I just hear you right? Did you j-just say 'eliminate'?! Your logic isn't making any sense!"

The man didn't respond. Instead, he rushed forward with his own too legs, even though the distance between them made it easy for even an athletic person to react. Saten immediately gripped her bat tightly with both hands and reacted instinctively as the man came within range, swinging her bat as hard as she could at the side of his face.

The man held his arm up at the same time to block the bat. The bat connected with his forearm at full force and a loud shattering sound echoed through the night.

Rather than an arm shattering, however, it was the bat that broke in half at the point of collision, sending the top half of the bat spiraling upward into the air.

The recoil sending Saten sprawling back onto the ground as she let out her breath without thinking. She had swung with all of her force, so the force made her fingers numb from shock. She stared at them for a moment before looking back toward the man. Seeing him standing over her, she gripped the bat tightly in her hand once more, though she was sure it wouldn't serve much purpose while broken.

"H-Hold on." Saten stuttered as a fearful smile spread across her face. "How did you do that? That bat was made of metal! Are you made of steel, or something?"

"You didn't see it?" The man muttered without really answering. Even from this close, she could not see his eyes though the dark eyeholes. This only made the ceramic smile all the more creepy. He held one hand out just in time to catch the top half of the bat as it fell with impressive reflexes. "Good. It wouldn't be real justice if you had. If you need to be seen doing good in order to have the motivation, you're simply a fake."

"I don't get what you're saying!" Saten cried out as the man held the broken metal bat up to swing it down. Saten shut her eyes, waiting for the dull pain to spread through her skull.

A few seconds passed, and nothing happened. When no sound to indicate him even missing reached her ears, Saten opened her eyes slightly to peek upward.

When she saw what had happened, she opened her eyes completely in surprise.

Someone had approached the man wearing the mask from behind and had grabbed the broken metal bat in one hand before the man could swing, preventing it from hitting Saten. The man in the mask paused for a moment before cocking his head back in order to see who it was that had interfered.

"Whoa. It's a good thing I got so much guts, or else I might've been too late. Are you alright, missy? Don't worry—I've got everything under control now that I'm here."

The person wore a rising sun t-shirt and a white jacket from a school uniform over his shoulders, similar to a cape.

He was the seventh level 5, Sogiita Gunha.

A true hero who came to the rescue of others according to fate and destiny, rather than some dubious sixth sense.

Without even hesitating, the man in the mask slammed his foot into the level 5's face with all of his strength. His athleticism was commendable, as he managed to perform the kick by bending down on one foot and bringing his other foot over his head with an impressive stretch, like a gymnast. He may have been tall, but he was also impressively flexible.

What's more, thanks to the same ability that allowed him to break a metal bat so easily, the kick held a lot of weight, as if he were swinging an anvil.

However, Sogiita Gunha didn't even flinch.

He only grinned while the man's shoe remained connected with his forehead.

"Hm. That actually tingled a bit. I'm impressed that you actually managed to affect me so much. That must take a lot of guts, mister."

Sogiita smirked as he squeezed the hand holding the metal bat and it shattered to pieces. The man in the mask immediately retreated several feet for safety, completely ignoring Saten, who continued to watch in shock.

Just what was this guy? He wasn't hurt by a kick that must have been equivalent to a steel truck ramming into a person at 60mph and had managed to sneak up on the masked man and Saten despite having no visible stealthy qualities that she could see.

The masked man's body was tense as he seemed to weigh the situation carefully in his mind.

"…You didn't see my justice, so it's alright." He seemed to decide at last. "There is no need to eliminate you. If I just finish upholding my justice, I can continue on to find Fremea Seivelun. So if you would leave or turn around, it would be appreciated."

His tone was reasonable enough, but his words were completely absurd. He was really planning on doing away with Saten before continuing on with whatever he had been doing. Logic did not seem to reach him at all.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. That's a problem. 'Eliminate'? That sort of thing is for shameful ninjas and assassins who are nothing but cowards. You're a man! You should face your enemy with guts if you want to defeat him! If you can't beat him like that, then clearly you're lacking guts! Since you're so uneducated, I'll teach you about guts with my fists! SO BRING IT ON! I'LL USE MY GUTS TO THEIR FULL POWER!"

Clearly, the other one was not any more reasonable. He'd even forgotten that Saten was a girl.

Sogiita yelled at the top of his lungs as he lowered his center of gravity, gripping his hands tightly at his side. As his energy levels rose, the air around him seemed to shimmer as if there was a heat wave. The man in the mask appeared to be provoked by his words, as he gripped his hands tightly as well.

"So be it. A dark hero only performs justice on his own time when no one is looking, so brawling in public for a little bit is fine. Just know; when it comes to hand to hand combat, I'm as tough as a dragon."

"Heh. Really? That's a pretty gutsy boast—!"

Sogiita barely managed to finish his sentence by the time the masked man had reached him, fist raised. Sogiita received the punch directly across the face and this time, he did show that he receive a blow, his neck turning in the direction the force aimed. But that was it. Sogiita's legs didn't buckle, his balance didn't sway—he didn't even blink.

"Nice punch. But it's lacking! It's time for me to show you a real gutsy punch! Amazing…Punch!"

Sogiita's fist connected with the masked man's body at close range, sending the man flying back immediately like a rocket. He slammed into the shutters of a nearby drugstore and went right through, as if it were made of paper. Sogiita grinned triumphantly as he held his fist up, glancing at his unharmed knuckles.

"I can see what you were talking about! That was liking punching concrete! You're still conscious, right? I know you've got the guts to stand again! Tell me; what kind of power is that?"

There was a long silence in which no response came. Of course there wouldn't be. A normal person wouldn't be able to handle that sort of punch, especially if they happened to pierce shutters with their own body. Saten knew this guy had come to save her and couldn't exactly describe her feelings as 'fear', but she was pretty sure she was looking at some sort of monster.

"…All things can be defined by their hardness. You can slam a diamond into granite and break the granite, but you can't break diamond with granite. A diamond can scratch itself, but it can't scratch titanium. Hardness can serve as the ultimate defense and the ultimate offense…That's why my power to change the hardness of myself and anything I touch is called 'Diamond Shift'!"

The masked man slammed through the same hole in the shutters he had flown in through, widening it so he could fit vertically. He seemed pretty much unharmed, probably because he had made himself harder than diamond and the shutter more fragile than a pile of twigs.

"I see...I've got to admit, that's pretty gutsy." Sogiita's grin showed no worry despite hearing about such a powerful ability. "In fact, it's so gutsy, I'm kind of curious, now. Can my full power Amazing Punch through something harder than titanium? It will be a challenge of guts versus guts! Come on, mister! We'll have an awesome fight to see which of us has more guts!"

"Definitely not."

The masked man moved his hand as if he were performing a tsukkomi, making Sogiita tilt his head in confusion.

"Why not?"

"I may be able to handle your punches, but it's pretty obvious I can't beat you. Not as I am now, anyways. I need to make sure I make it in time to find out who kills Fremea so I can avenge her spirit. That would be the ultimate level of dark heroism."

"Ah. I see. So you've got to practice for your movie roll. Sorry to have kept you."

Saten wanted to yell something as Sogiita stood aside without an argument, but she knew deep inside that it was pointless. This seemed like the sort of guy who would do things without any regrets. Besides, she was really happy to finally see the masked man leave. Something about his 'dark hero' act bothered her even more than his attempt to eliminate her.

"What about you, missy?" Sogiita turned his attention to Saten, to her dismay. "I assume you've got something you need to do, since you're out here so late. I can show some guts by bringing you back to your dorm, you know."

"I-I'll be fine on my own." Saten assured as she put on a brave smile, backing away step by step. "My dorm's not too far anyways, so it'll be fine. Thanks for saving me!"

Saten turned on her heel and hurried off without turning back once. She was sure she wouldn't be able to stop running until she finally reached her bed. She had completely forgotten what she had went out to do or who she had wanted to save. Once her thoughts about being a 'hero' of any sort had vanished, her overconfidence and single-minded determination had withered with it.

It wasn't because she'd seen how dangerous it was, though. It was really because, once she'd seen a real hero in person, her subconscious could no longer fool itself into believe that she could match it.


End file.
